Neymar tries to defend the ball in the PSG box, but Mensah dispossesses him the first time, but concedes a foul in the next attempt and PSG resumes play with a quick free-kick.
Foul! Danilo tries to get the ball and Niang goes down in the process. However, shortly after the player is back on his feet, the match resumes. No foul given whatsoever.
Chance! PSG attacks on the counter, with Mbappe sprinting into the box, but his ball for Messi is met by the Argentine, who gets to it, but fails to keep the shot on target.
Corner kick for Auxerre as Autret takes it. But PSG clears it way as Gaultier signals the players to be careful with injuries a week before the World Cup.
Messi tries to cook something, pairing up with Verratti, gets the ball back from the Italian and passes to his right for Mendes. However, the final pass to Neymar sees the ball finally end to nothing as AJ Auxerre’s despair keeps it just one goal behind.
PSG is looking to stretch the opposition with passes from the left to the right side of the midfield and Mbappe beats Auxerre with his pace, then tries to cut in to his right. However, he is surrounded by two white shirts to out the attack to bed.
Mendes makes a run along the left flank and gets the ball via an aerial pass. He tries to head the ball to Messi but Jeanvier has looked omnipresent in the box and he heads it away then and again, seconds later, denying Neymar the second time.
Auxerre’s French defender Paul Joly (L) fights for the ball with Paris Saint-Germain’s Portuguese defender Nuno Mendes during the French L1 football match between Paris Saint-Germain FC and AJ Auxerre at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris on November 13, 2022. | Photo Credit: AFP
PSG is enjoying fair bit of possession at the back as Gaultier’s men try to build from the back. The ball moves around from Hakimi to Ramos and to Mendes who tries to carry the ball along the left flank.
PSG plays one-touch passes to build an attack, with the ball moving from Mbappe to Danilo and finally to Messi, but his pass is intercepted by Jeanvier to stop the ball getting into the Auxerre penalty box.
Messi drops back to receive the ball in the PSG half and flies in a long ball looking for Mbappe, but Costil is the usual suspect to intercept and put that attempt to bed.
Nuno Mendes tries to in another attack, with Mendes passing for Danilo Pereira, but the Portugal international is forced out with Auxerre ensuring they do not concede another so soon.
Save! Niang forces Donnarumma to make a good save on his right with a left-footed shot on his return from suspension and the corner kick that follows is eventually cleared by PSG
Neymar passes to Messi, who flicks it to Mbappe, but the ball in the AJ Auxerre box is intercepted by the goalie Costil before the France international got to it.
Auxerre is trying to draw PSG to attempt a counter attack, but it needs to be careful of the firepower PSG’s forward three hold -- Messi, Mbappe and Neymar - all three going to the World Cup and have made the side a formidable one this season.
In the first half of the game, the host PSG has naturally looked the more aggressive side, but Mbappe, though coming close to scoring in the second minute, could not land a shot that could trouble Auxerre.
PSG will look to go into the World Cup break in a bid to continue its unbeaten streak this season when it faces Auxerre at home on Sunday. Christophe Galtier’s side was given a run for their money when Lorient almost took the lead before Danilo Pereira scored the winner late in the second half.
The team last drew a match in a month ago, on October 12, against Benfica in the Champions League and sits on top of the table with a two-point cushion, which, in case of a win, will increase to five after Round 15 of Ligue 1.
Auxerre, on the other hand, has just one win in its last 10 matches and comes into the match after a 1-1 draw to Troyes. It sits 15th in the league table with 13 points.